ancient customs

There is considerable evidence that young nobles had intimate relations
with peasant women, but I doubt if sexual gratification was the only
reason, and I doubt if force was necessary in most cases. One must
remember that, given smallpox, mumps, other diseases, dietary
deficiencies, and a number of other factors, a far larger portion of the
population than today was sterile. This caused something of a problem, I
should think, because the functions of noble marriage -- whether it be a
family alliance, descent of property, or something else -- depended on
the birth of heirs and heiresses. One way that a young noble could
improve his standing in the marriage market was to have proof that he was
capable of fathering children, and the best proof of that was that he had
done so. I might add that the "common belief" that the wife was
responsible for a childless marriage may often have stemmed from the
husband's previous proof of his potency.

Another factor entered into such relations. A man with a couple of
bastard sons had less to fear from a barren marriage since all he had to
do was to recognize them in order to have heirs and successors at hand.
This was particularly important since the lack of an heir could always be
construed as a sign that a patrimony was to be had for the taking. In the
accounts of such relations that I have encountered, the woman
received a handsome dowry -- particularly if she had borne a sturdy son
-- and the noble married her off as well as possible. The fact that she
also had proven herself fertile no doubt made her even more attractive.
Except in those few regions where noble descent in both lines was
required, this practice offered at least a few women the chance to rise
in station. In the case of Hawisa, the mother of William I, the leap from
tanner's daughter to vicountess was substantial.

The practice of betrothing young or even infant daughters, as in the
case of Petronilla, heiress to Aragon, to Count Ramon Berenguer, was
another factor promoting extra-marital relations between noblemen and
peasant women. The husband often had to wait some years before the
marriage could be consummated, and that consummation was by no means
assured since mortality among the young was substantial, for both nobles
as well as lesser folk.